Â¥ CHAPTER 5

Robert S. Norris

How did West Point shape Leslie Richard Groves and how did the Academy contribute to the skills he used to oversee one of the nation's most ambitious enterprises, the building of the atomic bomb during World War II?l The Manhattan Project was, among other things, a gigantic engineering, construction, and industrial effort, run by the Army under great secrecy, accomplished rapidly through unortho- dox means to deal with uncertain technologies. Overemphasis of the roles played by a few individual scientists has distorted our under- standing and appreciation of these features. A closer look at Groves the administrator and builder will supplement-and partially cur- rect-common misperceptions of the project and provide us with a fuller understanding of how the atomic bomb was built.

The Manhattan Project did not just happen. It was put together and run in acertain way: Groves's way. Ilis is a classic case of an indi- vidual making a difference. Being in the right place at the right time is the secret of winning a place in history, but rarely does a person arrive there by accident. Groves ran the Manhattan ~roject in precise and resolute ways, recruiting some of the giants of American indus- try and science to design, build, and run his atomic Factories and laboratories. Without Groves's organizational and managerial skills, and construction know-how, the project might have failed; in any case it would have taken longer to accomplish. Individuals do make

102 WLST POINTi TWO CEN'I'URlES AND BEYOND

a difference, and in this instance Groves was indispensable to the project's success.

Many factors contributed to the development of Groves's personality ahd character, ranging from family influences and gowingup on military posts at the beginning of the 20th century, to service in the interwar army with the Corps of Engineers. West Point was one of the most significant - - of those factors leaving an indelible mark upon him. It transformed an ambitious and aggressive but disorganized and carefree boy into a remarkably setf-disciplined man imbued with assiduous work habits and a sound technical education. In addition, the Cadet Honor Code provided him with a moral compass that he followed throughout his life.

Dick Groves (he was known by Dick after his middle name Rich- ard) entered the Academy on 15 June 1916 as a member of t he Class of 1920. He later recalled that "entering West Point fulfilled m y great- est ambition" and went on to give his reasons for wanting to attend the Military Academy:

I had been brought up in the army, and in the main had lived on army posts all my We. I was deeply impressed with the character and outstanding devotion of the officers I knew. I had also found the enlisted men to be good solid Americans and in general far superior to men of equal edu- cation in civil life. I was imbued with the idea that t he West Point graduates were normally the best officers and o n the whole enjoyed higher respect from the enlisted men.2

Like many cadets of his day, he had completed several years of university level education prior to entering. Groves had spent one year at the University ofwashington and two years at WIT. The deci- sion to go to West Point was his, and it was something he wanted intensely. His father, an Army chaplain for 20 years, did not encour- age his son to follow him, andin fact preferred he choose another career. His mother, before her death in 1913, tried in discreet ways to influence her son against an Army career. It was to no avail.

Groves attendedwest Point for less than two and a half years, grad- uating with the Class of November 19 18.The standard four-year course was cut short by die expected need for officers for Worldwar I, though

LESLIE R. GROVES, WEST POINT, AND THE ATOMIC BOMB 103

as it turned out he graduated only ten days prior to the armistice. What was West Point like? In those early years of the 20th century

West Point was a smaller, more tradition-bound institution, resistant to, even fearful of, change. As one scholar has described it:

At West Point, graduates had all taken the same classes, undergone the same hazing, marched in the same for- mations. This common experience gave them a sense of communitv, of fraternity, that thev could not bear to see * ~

destroyed. A change in the continuity at the Academy would have the effect of disturbing their bond. To tamper with West Point would be to tamper with the cement that held the army officer corps t~ge ther .~

West Point influenced family priorities and practices. Sons of graduates were usually encouraged to attend the Military Academy. Classes were, small enough that a cadet would probably know most of his classmates, and even many in the classes just ahead or just behind? Graduates would often marry young women whose fathers were graduates themselves. (Thus Groves married the daughter of a

. . member of the Class of 1877.) The Regular Army officer corps was inbred and in many ways isolated from the society at large.

Like every new cadet, Groves wanted to realize the promise of

. . . West Point. In a contemporary account a former instructor describes

,. . what a cadet feels when he arrives.

To the candidate [his arrival at West Point] conjures a vision of all that he hopes to be. The honor of being a cadet, the privilege of wearing the uniform, the immense possibilities of physical and mental achievement, the soul-satisfying fear

. . of an ambition about to be realized, the glamour of military life, and, il must be admitted, a secret feeling of righteous

. . superiority over his boy friends at home-all these thoughts . . . .. crowd his imagination so that for once he sees frozen the

vague ideal that he always has had of himself.5

No sooner did one class graduate in early June than a new plebe class-formally, Fourth Class-arrived, trudging up the hill from the

104 WEST POINT: TWO CENTURIES AND BEYOND

train station on the west bank of the Hudson River? Groves was one of the 322 cadets of what would have become the Class of 1920 who entered that summer of 1916, the largest class up to that time. Two days before Groves's arrival, President Woodrow Wilson had deliv- ered a half-hour address to the graduates of the Class of 1916 and awarded them their diplomas.

Frnm all Groves had heard he knew that his first three weeks as a cadet in "Beast Barracks," the indoctrination into West Point ways, would be the most demanding experience of his young life. And indeed it was, with early reveille and long hours of physical train- ing and military drill. This rite of passage also included considerable hazing by upperclassmen on the Beast detail..' The severe treatment of plebes had its purpose. As a contemporary of Groves said,

The standards of West Point are entirely unlike those of any other institution. To preserve those standards unchanged it is considered necessary that a young man entering the Academy be subjected to the severest discipline, that even his personality be more or less suppressed in order to give the spirit of West Point time to get hold of him, to allow him to adapt himself to the ideals of the Corps, and to keep those ideals from being, through him, perverted.'

After two months in summer camp at the northwest corner of the Plain, Groves moved into cadet barracks to begin the first aca- demic term. Like every plebe, he was issued a copy of Bugle Notes, a pocket-sized handbook known as the Plebe bible and containing useful information about the rites and rituals, schedules and pro- cedures of West Point. It stated, "The puzpose of the Academy is to shape a man and a soldier-an honorable, loyal, courageous, self- reliant, disciplined, intelligent gentleman and officer." There was also a section titled "English as She Is Spoke at the U.S.M.A."9 The plebe was required to learn a new vocabulary that helped describe his new life. In the first year he was frequently "braced" (ordered to assume a severe position of attention); "skinned" (reported as being in violation of regulations); and "quilled" (reported as having committed one of the offenses listed in the "Black Book"). But if he

LESLIE H. GROVES, WEST POINT, AND THE ATOMIC BOMB 1

"hived" (understood) his study assignment or "specked (memorized without understaiiding) his assignment, he might "max" (achieve a maximum grade on) the lesson.

The cadets lived in either Smith Barracks or North Barracks. Each room was identical, 14 feet by 22 feet, with the same furniture for itb two cadets: two iron cots, two plain wooden tables, two wooden chairs, two steel clothes lockers, and two washbowls. Bathing or toilet call required a trip to the "sinks" (lavatories) in the basement. Rugs on the floor and pictures on the wall were prohibited. The mirror was flanked by notice of the hours of instruction and the schedule of the cadet. Failing to have it correctly posted was an offense. There were also hooks on the wall to hang clothing, in the proper order: the first hook for the raincoat, the second for the overcoat, the third for the dress coat, and so on. Shoes were aligned toes-out alongside the bed, in order of size from biggest to smallest. During the day mattresses were folded, with bedding folded and piled on top, ready for any inspection that might occur.

Activities were prescribed for almost every minute of the day. The cadet was up at 6:00 am, with breakfast at 6:30. Normally there were two classes from 8:00 a.m. to 12:35 p.m. Dinner lasted 40 minutes and was followed by another class until 3145 p.m. Then it was drill. athletics, and parade, with supper at 6:25 p.m. Call to quarters fol- lowed, with a study period from 7:30 to 9:30, taps at 10:00 p.m., and lights-out.'"

A cadet was issued an extensive wardrobe of uniforms of different types and combinations, depending upon the season, weather, and function." Cadets knew the proper uniform for each occasion by looking out of their barracks room window to see which uniform flag flew in the courtyard. A cadet was not allowed to have money; before admission he had to deposit sufficient funds with the treasurer to cover the cost of his uniforms, about $160 when Groves was a plebe. His pay was $600 per year, but thai too was deposited, and all costs he incurred were drawn against it. The cost of meals-$29.19 per month in 191&books, laundry, blankets, sheets, pillowcases, mat- tresses, candy, tobacco, uniform replacements, and furloughs kept the cadet constantly on the verge of debt, or in it.

106 WEST I'OINT: TWO CENTURIES AND BEYOND

During meals there were ordered procedures that had no variation. A bugle or drum call summoned the cadets to forma- tion for marching to Grant Hall, the cadet mess. Cladets marched everywhere, at all times. If even two cadets were going from the chapel to the library, they kept in step. Once inside the mess hall the cadets arranged themselves at tables according to seniority, standing at attention behind their chairs. After theorder "Take seats," the meal began. A First Classman (senior), known as the table commandant, was in charge of each table, and he sat at its head. Second Classmen (juniors) and Third Classmen (sopho- mores] came next, positioning themselves down the table until at the foot sat three or four lowly plebes, who performed the menial duties of serving their superiors. One plebe, known as the water corporal, poured the water and milk; another, the meat corporal, carved the "bone"; and a third, the coffee corporal, poured the coffee. The gunner supervised the supply of food brought from the kitchen by civilian waiters. If plebes were in short supply, they might have to double up on their duties. Busy with their chores, the plebes ate in spasms when they had a free minute. Meals were not leisurely affairs. Including announcements from the officials about various matters, the meal was over in half an hour. At its conclusion the cadets were called to attention and dismissed, to make their way back to their rooms.

During plebe year many drop out for one reason or another. In Groves's class seven were gone in the first three weeks, not making it past Beast Barracks; others departed as a result of academics, and a few were lost to the Honor Code, the strict rules that demand the reporting of dishonorable behavior. The Cadet Honor Code-"A cadet does not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who doM-stands as the keystone in fulfilling West Point's mission.I2 The code is about trust. If officers in the Regular ~ r m j could not trust one another, especially i n war, then the prospects for battlefield success would be u ~ d e r m i n e d . ~ ~ West Point graduates believed in the values taught there and used them as the central principles of conduct throughout their lives. Groves was a prime example: he lived by the code and expected others to do so as well.

LESLIE H. GROVES, WEST POINT, ANDTHE ATOMIC BOMB 107

Some of the more dramatic differences between then and now are to be found in the course of instruction. The curriculum of Groves's day, as well as the nature and purpose of a West Point education, was still deeply rooted in 19th-century traditions, though some reforms were o~cu r r ing .~~ A uniform course of study for all helped forge a unified and homogeneous officer corps. Mental discipline and character-building were the essential ways to prepare young men to be Army officers.15 Thus the curriculum at the time offered no choices. No matter what his previous schooling, every cadet took every subject, evcry cadet had to recite every day and was graded on his answers, and every cadet had to be proficient in every subject to advance. There were no exceptions.

Cadet Groves's first-year courses included mathematics, English, history, practical military engineering (surveying), and drill regula- tions (infantry and artillery).16 The technical curriculum was heav- ily weighted in the first two years toward mathematics, consuming about 45 percent of the course work. Groves had already taken sev- eral math courses at the University ofwashington and MIT, so he did well in math and surveying, placing fifth and second, respectively. Overall at the end of plebe year, he ranked 23d and was one of the 26 distinguished cadets of the Fourth Class entitled to wear stars on his collar.17

The cadets were marched by sections to class in the East Aca- demic or West Academic (now Pershing Barracks) Building. After the cadets were in the classroom, the section marcher closed the door. faced the instructor, saluted, and reported either that all were pres- ent or that those noted were absent. In Groves's day there were prob- ably a dozen or so cadets per section. After the order "Take seats," the instructor asked if there were any questions about the day's assignment. Answering them took about half the period. Then the instructor would say, "Take boards," and. each cadet would stand and face a blackboard, write his name in chalk in the corner, and listen for instructions. If it were a math class, for example, the boards were marked odd and even. Cadets at the odd blackboards would work on two or three problems over the next 30 or 40 minutes, while their neighbors at the even boards would work on two or three different

WEST POINT: TWO CENTURIES AND BEYONU

ones. Whereas the honor system was operative every minute of the day, the odd-even system helped prevent an inadvertent observation that might arise due to peripheral vision.

With the order "Cease work," the cadet stopped where he was. The instructor would then give the pointer to a cadet, who would have to explain how he solved his assigned problem. After the class was dismissed, the instructor assessed each of the boards and recorded a grade. At the end of the week all the marks were com- piled into the weekly report ("tenth sheets" reflecting the numerical gradiig system that discriminated to the first decimal place) and posted on Saturday on bulletin boards in the sally ports of the bar- racks, where allcould see every cadet'sprogress or lack thereof. Once a month the cadets were "resectioned according to merit, with the most capable moving up to higher sections and those less so moving down. Each month the grades &re mailed to the parents to keep them informed. This was a highly competitive environment where tenths of a point The instructors gave grades using a scheme laid down by Sylvanus Thayer, superintendent from 1817 to 1833. Perfect was scored 3.0; passing was 2.0. Thus there were only 11 possible passing grades between 2 and 3-2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, and so on-and the grade competition was fought out there ("fighting for tenths"). Anything below 2.0 of course was a failure. The system was slightly skewed, with instructors of the top sections more likely to continue to give higher grades to those cadets, often for identical work, than did instructors in the middle or bottom sections.!"

From the daily recitations to weekly compilations, to the month- ly, semester, year, and finally entire four years, an aggregate grade, to the second decimal point, was calculated. This score-along with demerits-determined the General Order of Merit, or class rank, and would follow the cadet to the end of his days (and even beyond), determining what branch he would enter and thus where lie would be assigned, when he would be promoted, even which set of quarters he would be assigned.19 It was a system that fostered competition, and Groves thrived on it, for he truly enjoyed competing; he liked nothing better than excelling at whatever he undertook. His copies of the annual. Official Register are full of his penciled computations,

LESLIE R. GROVES, WEST POINT, ANDTHE ATOMIC BOMB 109

caniedto five significant figures, of his standingrelative to that of his classmates-keeping track of progress toward his goal of being Num- ber One. a goal that he likely would have attained if his class had not graduated earlyz0 Even so, he finished fourth out of 226 in the Class of November 1918. The Thayer system developed Gioves's will to win and made it a lasting part of his makeup.

Early in the 20th century a new emphasis came to be placed on the physical conditioning of cadets.21 In 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt ordered all cadets to attend gymnasium daily. By 1910 they used the new gymnasium for boxing, fencing, bowling, and squash. The following year an indoor swimming pool was installed. Physical exercise also came in the courses that exposed the cadet to the other branches of the Army besides engineering: field artillery, infantry, and the cavalry. Equestrian exercises were practiced in the huge riding hall.

Exercise also came in daily drills and parade. In order to drill in formation and appear visually as a coherent whole, the Corps was "sized." This involved lining up the cadets by height and assigning them to companies based on how tall they were. The number of companies depended upon the size of the class; always beginning with A it might run to I, as it did for Groves's class. The tallest cadets were in Companies A and I, the next tallest in Companies B and H, next C and G, and so on. Thus when the Corps was formed in a line of companies on the parade ground, it appeared as though everyone was the same height. Cadets in A and I Companies were known as Flankers. Cadets assigned to the center companies were known as Runts. While the purpose of sizing was for the Corps to appear of uniform size when drilling, the cadets used it as a means of social differentiation, leading to some real animosity and contempt among them. Flankers held themselves superior to the lowly Runts, who were considered officious, aggressive, and overly military-a com- bination that was commonly termed a "runt complex." During his plebe year, Groves was in H Company and at five feet ten and one- half inches (tall in his day), a Flanker. This was a source of great sat- isfaction to him, leading him to make shorter classmates the butts of his derisive comments.

110 WEST POIÂ¥-JT TWO CENTURIES AND BEYOND

There was also an extensive athletic program, with intramural and some inteicollegiale competition. Groves favored the contact sports, football and wrestling. In his plebe year he played on the junior varsity football squad, and in his yeailing year he played on the varsity, whose only loss in eight games was to Notre Dame. The schedule did not include arch rival Navy, the contest being canceled for the duration of the war. Groves did not play in two-thirds of the games and thus did not earn an A letterz2 The star of that team was Elmer "Ollie" Oliphant, a year ahead of Groves, an All-American fullback and CO-captain. On 10 November 1917, Army played the Carlisle Indian School and beat them 28-0. Groves was the second- string center behind his roommate, Arthur Pulsifer, and played in the gameA3 In the winter months there was intramural wrestling. In his plebe year during the indoor meet he came in second in the light heavyweight class.

Groves keptsomewhat apart from his classmates. While his room- mates and hail mates were spending their free time in the evenings gossiping, playing cards, or horsing around, Groves studied or wrote letters home, while lecturing the other cadets about not wasting their opportunity to excel. Although some considered him a bit of a grind, he was respected for his ambition and his dedication; it was clear to several of his classmates, even then, that he was destined for higher leadership.

The commandant of cadets, assisted by the tactical officer for each company, is responsible for the military instruction and discipline of the Corps. In Groves's time the commandant was Lt. Col. Guy V Henry. The officers in the tactics department prescri bed the order of the barracks, the mess hall, and just about every other detail of cadet life. For breaches of regulations cadets wereskinned, or reported, as we noted earlier. With so many rules there were ample opportuni- ties for infractions, ranging from being late for class to inattention to instruction to missing a button on one's uniform. The cadet had to submit a written explanation of his delinquency and, depending on the severity of the offense, might receive punishment in lieu of or in addition to demerits. It might be a "punishment tour," one hour of walking an assigned pattern onWednesday or Saturday afternoon in

LESLIE R. GROVES, WEST POINT, AND THE ATOMIC BOMB 11

the central courtyard known as the Area. It might mean confinement to one's room, loss of furlough, deprivation of privileges, reprimand, or, in the most serious cases, suspension or dismissal. Conduct was factored into overall class standing and when relative class standing could hinge on tenths of a demerits could make the difference in where one eventually ranked.

Groves never had any serious disciplinary problem^.^* As a plebe he ranked in the middle in conduct; like most of his classmates he was awarded the bulk of his demerits during the first six m o n t h ~ . ~ ~ A t that time there were seven classes of offenses. A Class 1 offense was the most severe; playing at cards or games of chance, for example, could result in 11 to 20 demerits. Least severe were Classes 5, 6. and 7, which resulted in the fewest demerits (three, two, and one, respectively). Almost all of Groves's demerits were 7s and 6% with an occasional 5. His worst day came on 14 October 1917, when, under the watchful eye of tactical officer Captain Kelly, Groves was awarded six demerits for three separate offenses at inspection: a dirty rifle, a soiled collar, and a tarnished breastplate-awards that were consid- ered to be "character building." In his case, they most certainly were. For, though he walked the area on account of them, he decided that doing so was a waste of his time; after that he walked no more.

Although Groves's academic performance at the University of Washington and MIT had been mediocre to average, at West Point he was an excellent student. Considering his entire two and a half years, Groves ranked fourth in his class. He graduated and was com-' missioned a second lieutenant on 1 November 191B.26

. . The developments of the European war, under way since 1914,

.. . had been slow to influence the conservative Academy2' Occasionally the war intruded in the form of distinguished visitors. Gen. Joseph Joffre, hero of the Marne, visited West Point in May 1917. The fol- lowing May, a group of French combat veterans, the Blue Devils, vis- ited The West Point Band played "The Marseillaise" and 900 cadets marched as one in their h0nor.2~

The initial response atWest Point to the Great War in Europe was that no change was needed at all in the tradition-bound crucible forging America's officer class. Until 1917, the Academy refused to

112 WEST POINT: TWO CENTURIES AND BEYOND

acknowledge the changes brought about by the war, adhering to the curriculum that had been established prior to the American Civil War. In military instruction, the well-established great captains- Alexander, Caesar, and Napoleon, as well as the Civil War leader* were studied intensively, while such modern developments as the Gatling gun and trench warfare were largely ignored.

But when the United States formally entered the war on 6 April 1917, the War Department, badly in need of officers, accelerated the graduation dates of West Point cadets. Eventually the six wartime classes that entered between 1913 and 1918 would all graduate in the 38-month period betweenApril 1917 and June 1920, leaving the Mil- itary Academy practically emptyzy This rush to produce West Point officers through accelerated graduation was controversial within the Army's high command. Granted, large numbers of officers were needed to lead the huge numbers of men going off to war. A partial solution to that problem was to give commissions to thousands of civilians, so-called emergency officers.30 In 1916 there were 5,175 officers in the Army. The following year there were 34,224; in 1918, 130,485.31 When the war was over, many of these wartime officers became Regulars. The long-term impact. of this infusion, known as the "Hump." profoundly affected the interwar army, freezing officer promotions throughout two decades and causing Groves and his classmates to remain first lieutenants for 16 years.

On the morning of 2 October 1918, a rumor began spreading through the Corps that the Classes of 1920 and 1921 would graduate on 1 November of that year. At dinner that evening an announce- ment confirming the rumor was made in the main mess hall. It was a moment of high drama. Immediately after the order had been read, the acting commandant held up his hand for silence and said, "Now let's seewhat sort of discipline you have . . . . I want everyone to keep absolutely silent for five minutes."32 After what seemed to be an excruciatingly long period the cadets were told to make as much noise as they wanted; what followedwas pure pandemonium. A hec- tic four weeks followed, "a nightmare of lectures and drill . . . busy morning, noon, and night. . . a mad attempt to give us a year's work in threernonth~."~3

LESLIE R. GROVES, WEST POINT, AND THE ATOMIC BOMB 113

Because of his high class standing Groves could choose his branch. He opted for the prestigious Corps of Engineers, the almost automatic choice of the smartest cadets decade after decade. West Point was, after all, founded as an engineering school, and tradilion-

I ally the top-ranking graduates chose engineering as their vocation. Indeed, leadership of the Academy was confined to the Corps of Engineers until. 1866, when Congress passed' a law allowing those from other branches of the Army to serve as superintendents. Nev- ertheless, of the 30 who served from 1802 to 1918, 20 were from the Corps of Engineers.

There was a large number of engineer spaces available, so Groves had lots of company. Twenty-nine out of the top 30 cadets in his class, and 44 out of the top 50, chose the Corps of Engineers. Twenty-five percent of the entire c lass42 cadets~chose the Corps. The choices for most of the remaining second lieutenants were infantry (501, field artillery (32), coast artillery (291, and cavalry (22). One other option was available, air service, and Eugene LutherVidal (a famous football star, later known for being Gore Vidal's father) and a few of his class-

t mates took it.

The hurriedly arranged graduation ceremony took place on the

i parade ground in the presence of about 3,000 people. In a short address Assistant Secretary ofwar Benedict Crowell told the 511 new second lieutenants (the Classes of November 1918 and 1919 gradu- ated at the same time) that it was the government's intention to have them in France within four months. Ten days later the Armistice was signed, proving once again that it is not always easy to predict when wars might end.

The imprint of Groves's experience atWest Point on his personali- ty, character, professionalism, and leadership runs deep, and though

. . we will treat this subject more expansively toward the end of the chapter let us pause briefly to note those traits that appear to reflect most directly the correspondence between his Academy training and his approach to officership.

The Academy regimen imbued Groves with extraordinary self- discipline-the will to harness his energies, impulses, inclinations, thoughts, and acts, and focus them laser-like upon the accomplish-

114 WEST POlNT: TWO CENTHHIlffl A N D BEYOND

men1 of a larger purpose. The math-science orientation of the Academy curriculum produced in Groves an analytic mind, one marked by remorseless objectivity, logic, and organization. It was a mind able to apply scrupulous attention to the particularities of a problem when such was required, but which never lost sight of the overarching principles leading lu answers to the great and complex questions. The Academy's continued emphasis upon the causal con- nection between leadership and mission accomplishment remained with Groves for life. He was a master artist in adapting his accus- tomed leadership and managerial style to the various exigencies of the moment, always with a tenacious regard for getting the job done. Most important of all, of course, was the Cadet Honor Code, which infused Groves with the grand imperative that an officer's word is his bond, an imperative informing every act in his subsequent profes- sional life.

Over the next 20 years, from 1919 to 1939. Groves served in the interwar Army in several capacities with the Corps of Engineers. An understanding of this experience and his indoctrination into the special culture of the Corps are essential to appreciating the skills and abilities Groves put to use in building the bomb. The interwar Army was an interesting institution, minuscule by contemporary standards, but miraculously able to provide much of the military leadership forworld War 11. Its average strength was about 135,000, some 12,000 of whom were commissioned officers. The number of officers in the Corps of Engineers during the period was only around 600, about five percent of the Army's officers.

It was a very small group in which everyone knew one another, and it was easy to spot who had ability and intclligence and who did not. The Corps of Engineers has traditionally seen itself as the elite branch of the Army, the best and the brightest with their own motto, "Essayons" (Let us try), and special buttons on their uniform. In many ways the Corps was a caste apart, semi-independent from the main Army and not really integrated into it at all. The other branches felt that distance as well. Engineers, with a few exceptions, normally were not chosen for the highest levels of command in the Army. Nev- ertheless the Corps fostered a tradition of excellence and was proud

LESLIE R. GHOVES, WEST POINT, AND THE ATOMIC BOMB 115

of its accomplishments of exploring, surveying, developing, and improving the expanding nation from colonial days to the present.

In 1916, the Chief of Engineers was concerned that the war- accelerated graduations at West Point had produced officers who were inadequately prepared to perform engineering duties, so he established a special course at the Army Engineer School designed to round out their education. Thus, Groves's first assignment was to that course. From there he went on to serve in a variety of duties from Hawaii to Delaware and from Vermont to Nicaragua-always closely observed and guided by outstanding senior officers. He learned a great deal from them; he did well in every assignment and gradually gained a reputation of being a man who could get things done.

He spent four years inwashington, DC, in the Chief of Engineers' office in the early 1930% and then attended the Command and Gen- eral Staff School (as it was known at the time) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Clearly on the fast track, he attended the Armywar College at Fort McNair in Washington, and then served on the General Staff just as World War 11 began in Europe. In late July 1940, as the Army mobi- lized for war, he was assigned as special assistant to the Quartermas- ter General where responsibility for military construction lay. The story of how the Corps of Engineers took control of construction over the next year and a half is too complicated to recount here, but it was a classic bureaucratic battle over turf With Groves in the middle of it. Eventually Groves ended up as Deputy Chief of Construction and in that capacity was responsible for all domestic Army construction during the period leading up to Pearl Harbor and for nine months afterwards, overseeing the construction of dozens of Army camps, depots, air bases, munitions plants, airplane plants, and hospitals, as well as building the Pentagon. His daily challenges were monu- mental and unrelenting. In July 1942, the construction peak was reached, with a million men at work and a monthly expenditure of $720 million,. the cost equivalent of 15 Pentagons or about $14 billion in today's dollars. It was here that he became widely known as some- one who could get things (lone, and in a hurry. He knew how wartime Washington functioned with its emergency boards and committees that allocated resources andmanpower to priority projects. And as

116 WESTPOINT: fWO CBMTURIES AND BEYOND

he workedwith the large construction and industrial firms he came to know their executives and engineers. He would soon lie calling upon them to help him build the bomb.

Groves was a classic example of the right person being in thc right place at the right time. His prior experience and record made him die most logical choice to head the Manhattan Project. From the day when he first took charge and for every day that followed he put his skills to wort to build the bomb in the fastest time possible. The ele- ment of speed was overriding in all of his actions. From tile outset he dedicated his efforts to winning thewar. His assignment to the project had denied him die opportunity to go overseas and serve as a com- bat engineer; yet his actions make it clear that, after a few moments of disappointment, he decided that building the bomb would be his life's achievement. Knowing that it might end the war was the main source of Groves's extraordinary determination and energy.

His mission order, dated 17 September 1942, was all-inclusive: 'Colonel Groves' duty will be to take complete charge of the entire project . . . land] draw up plans for the organization, construction, operation, and security of the project, and after approval, take the necessary steps to put it into effect." At the beginning Groves was engineer and builder, charged with constructing the plants and fac- tories that would make the atomic fuels~highly enriched uranium and plutonium. As the project accelerated, he came to oversee a vast security, intelligence, and counterintelligence operation with domestic and foreign branches. Through his power to make final decisions, he was ultimatelv in charge of all scientific research and - weapon design, including keeping close watch on the laboratory at Los Alamos. He was involved in many key high-level domestic policy issues and in several international ones as well. By 1945, in addition to all else, he effectively became the operational commander of the bomber unit he established to drop the bomb, and was intimately involved in the planning, targeting, and timing of its missions. One is struck, in discovering all of his many activities, by just how much power Groves accrued. As a West Point classmate and friend later observed, "Groves was given as much power in that position as any officer ever has had.''34 A remarkable statement.

LESLIE R. GROVES. WEST POINT, AND THE ATOMIC BOMB 117

Groves's education at West Point and elsewhere clearly did not qualify him to solve personally the scientific challenges of the Man- hattan Project. Nor did it need 10.Yet, the Academy's technical curric- ulum gave him the foundation necessary to build upon. Groves was always a quick study. He did his homework, asked questions, and had a rudimentary knowledge of the physics and chemistry of the atom; he did not need to be a world-class scientist since he had scores of them working for him. Eight on the project had already won a Nobel Prize, andmore than a dozen others would do so after the war. Issues requiring scientific analysis were thoroughly reviewed by his advis- ers; still, in the end it was Groves's choice about which path to take. And these were not easy decisions; the proposed solutions were not always clear-cut and often more than one alternative seemed prom- ising, each backed by sound scientific advice.

In the face of the baffling, enigmatic nature of the scores of such problems, arriving at the right solution in two or three cases could have been mere luck or chance. But to do so repeatedly over a period of three full years, as Groves did, bespeaks an engineer-administrator with uncanny judgment and the keenest of scientific-technological instincts.

Equally important to the project's succ'ess was Groves's broad, integrative perspective. The clashing worldviews of the theoretical physicist and die practical engineer were ever present in their dif- ferent approaches to the bomb. This point was brought home to him a few weeks after getting the job. In October 1942 Groves visited the University of Chicago to assess the status of the project and to meet some ofthe scientists. He asked them the practical question of how much fissionable materialbeither highly enriched uranium or plutonium-would be needed for a bomb. Expecting a reply within a narrow range of uncertainty, he was horrified when they told him that they could estimate only within a factor of ten. In other words if it was determined thai 100 pounds of plutonium might be needed, the correct amount could be anywhere from ten pounds to 1,000 pounds, not a good basis upon which to start building produc- tion facilities. In the months that followed Groves was relentless in demanding an answer to the crucial question of how much material

118 W.ST POINT: 1 WO CI-NTURIFS AND BEYOND

was needed for a bomb. Eventually an answer was found and pro- ducing that amount became the determining factor of when there was a homb ready for use.

Groves possessed to an unusual degree four of the essential quali- ties of leadership,.be it on the battlefield or off: the ability to choose able subordinates and let them work without interference; the self- confidence tu take decisive action when needed; the will to win; and personal integrity. Groves's dozens of personnel choices speak for themselves. He had an extraordinary ability to size people up almost instantly and to know whether they could perform the job he was assigning them or not. As for decisions, he made most ofthe impor- tant ones, risking hundreds of millions of dollars in the process and not getting too many of them wrong. When there was a misstep he was usually able. to reverse himself quickly. Since so many of the steps in the theory-to-hardware production cycle were fist-time engineering ventures-literally steps into the unknown-and since in those early years even the theory itself was uncertain and untest- ed, the fear of failure hung over the project from the beginning. Not until 16 JuJyl945, when the first atomic explosion occurred in the New Mexico desert, were the doubts dispelled. Though the weight of his responsibilities must have borne heavily upon him, he never let it show. Exhibiting any doubt would have eroded the morale of . .

everyone. He knew that leaders must project a confident exterior to maintain enthusiasm and focus.

These first two qualities of the man-shrewd insight into his fellowman and robust self-confidence~were probably a part of his birthright; as he matured, service with the Corps of Engineers

... developed and strengthened them. The last two-the will to win and integrity-are more directly attributable to his time at West Point, when constant exposure to the highly competitive atmosphere of the Thayer system imbued him with a fiercely competitive spirit and an indomitable will to win. After that, he would allow nothing to deter him from accomplishing his mission, however distasteful to him it might be and no matter who stood in the way. And the Cadet Honor Code provided the rock upon which his personal integrity was founded. As Sir James Chadwick said of him: "[Hie was a man of

LESLIE H. GROVES. WEST POINT, AND THE ATOMIC BOMB 119

his word. He could be trusted. When he said he would do something, it would be done."35

Throughout hislife he kept close ties to WestPoint. Aformer officer under whom he sewed (Francis B. Wilby), a close friend (Maxwell D. Taylor), and his executive officer (James B. Lampert) became Super- intendents. His son and grandson were graduates and Groves served as President of the Association of Graduates for four terms. As he said late in life, "To be a graduate of West Pout is an honor that comes to few and one that is never forgotten by any former cadet."36

' This chapter is derivedin part from Robert S. Norrls, Racingfor iheBomb: General Leslie R. Grwes, theManhattan Project's IndfspensabIe Man (South Royalton. VT: Steerforth Press. 20021. I wouldlike to thank James L Abrahamsoii for hi3 comments 011 an earlier version.

. . Leslie R. Groves, ForMy Gmndcltildm, Entry 7530N, Papas of LRG, Record Group ZOO, NARA, 10.1.

Stephen E.Ambrose, Duty. Honor CCountry.A History ofWest Point [Baltimore:The Johns Hopfcins Press. 1966). 207.

' For Uw clabsi5 iro:n 1910 tu 1919. the average number ofgraduates was 140: trom 1920 to 1929 11 was 225; (rum 1130 ID Wd it was 156.1:or the classcs horn IW!l to '9W the average number of graduates was 97U.

. . .. Robert Chailwood Richardson, Jr., Wesr1'oint:An Intimate Picture of the National

:e plcbe year. His book is an account of what it must have been like when Groves was there. . . .

? . . Sec also Jeffrey Simpson, Officers and Gentlemen: Historic Westpoint in Photograph (Tan-ytown, NY:.Sleepy llollow Press, 1982).

, :* Plebe& short for ihc Latin word plebeian, referring to a member of the lower or ordinary .; class~or, In dic Wcst Point dictionary,"less than nothing." 'HE Howitzer: The Yearbook of

..! . . . . the Class of 1919,361.

::! . . . ' Theoletically it ended with his class. The Howitzer: The Yearbook of the Class of 1920says .. . . . lhdtthey "were the last plcbc class to gu thru the mill under the old reflme ofintensified

. : . . hazing." 14.

... Brig. tien. William W. Ford, "Hehe Lik 191 8," Assembly, June 1982,37. ' TileYoung Men's Christian Association beginning in 1906 published SugleNotes

annually. In 1924 it was cditcd and distributed hy the upperclassmen. The ptebe was refunded his money if he knew the contents. Regulations.for the United Slates Milimry Academy, 1 April 1918, para. 109; Btt~Ie Notes 10 11910-19191, 96-97.

' Kegutatioits for (he United Siatm Military Academy, 1 Aprili918, paragraphs 178-195; AnnualReprtoJ~!heSuprrintendenr, UnitedStatesMilit~11cmlemy; 1918,39; Frederick K Todd, CiKfel Gray:A I'ictorial Hisro~yof Lifeat West Pam itsseen Through S ~ Ã Uniforms

. . PfewYoA: Stcrlinghblications, 1955).

120 WEST POINT: TWO CENTURIES AND BEYOND

The Honor Cude goes back to the bedmines of theAcademv, derivineits basic nrceevts .. - . . from he code u i honor i-f tk.c .'L-my's oliiwr corps.The fi~xt pni of ilic Luxen- Coae 1 A cadet doe, wilir-, i-lwu, ui blear 1 v.-di> not fctnvrili7ed uniil lCJ-la= the second part ("01 tolerate those who do") until 1970. See Department of the Army, Cadet Honor Conmillee, Honor System and SOP, 1 April 1999, The wording changed slightly in 2001. It newmads, "A cadet will not lie, cheat. steal, or tolcrale those who (in."

" Never better expressed than by Secretary ofWar, Newtun 11. Baker (19201: "Men may

mislworthinesswhichknows no evasions." Roficr 11. Nye, "The United States Military Academy in an Era oi Educational Reforin," (Ph.D. diss.. Columbia University, 1968).

" A compilation ocdata of the academic standings of all West Point, graduates who held die rankoEmalor g e n d ui higher in The CiviIWar.WorldWa~1. and WortdWa111 (a total of 6181, show's a correlation between academic ~roficiencv and later career success.

and 58 in the bottom third (21 pencent). The nerccntaees arc comparable for the Civilwar and World War I. ~ol.kharles F! ~icholas, "six Hundred and Eighteen Major Generals," Assembly, JÇIIU!II 1952,lO-11. The courses he look in hi? itlelwyvar ind ihc texthonks he used xt.- dcwrihcc in w c i a l R-er of the Officers ami hic i s . Unhed S w h Miliran* Arii,jew#v fur 1916 I Wcsi. Poirn, , , NY: USMA, 1916),75-79.

" Officialiiqister of the Officers andCadets, UnitedSlates MililaryAcaderny for 191 7 (West Voim, NY: USMA, 1!317J,34,52-53. A disiinguishedcadet is one who exceeds 92 percent of the possible total. The llon. John C. Cahoun, Secretany ofwar, instiruled the pramice ofrep0riin.g distinguished cadets on 10 February 1818.

In Through spcialtests at the end ot the termcalled WrittenOeneral Reviews, the aysiem provided a way for cadets in the middle or lower sections to improve their tanking. A cadet who did wellan WGRs could add points and thereby move upward,

l3 There are many exceptions to the rule. Ulvsscs S. Gram (Class of 18431 madwed Zlst in a class of 39. ~ou~eenera ls who recentlvserved as Chairman nf the Joint Chiefs of

~ ~ , ~~

-~ . ~ * .. - ~ ~ ~ - ~ - ~. Staff llohn W.Vessey, Colin L. Powell, iohn M.D. Shalikashvili, andHenq H. Shelton) did nut attend West Point, havino been c~inmissioned throufh OCS 01 ROTC. -

XI In a latter t o Chaplain Groves, his brother Owen reported Dick claiming 'that if hey stay there the full four years, he will emerge at the lop of Ills class, If tlicy are cut short he expects to he third or fourth." Letter, Owen Groves to Chaplain Groves, June 1917, author's collection. Nye, "The United States MilitaryAcademy," 115-124.

' 'Ih receive credit fnr playing a game rhc cadet must be in at Icast one ftdl period of the game. BugleHall's 10 (l'Jl&19l!l), 67, "Carlisle Fssyfor Army," NewYork Times, 11 November 1917.The eight games are described in some dclail in The Howitzer: The Yearbook of the Classof 1919,262-69. Register of Demerits, Class ofNuvembcr 1918, Part I (A-Ij, USMA Archives; Abstract of lklinquencies, 11 wis., 1 June 191.630 Novemhcr 1918, USMA Archives; Segulflft'om of the United Staves MilhryAcademy, April 1916.

LESLIE R. GROVES, WEST POINT, AND THE ATOMIC BOMB 121

2!i Dcinurits were nor recorded tor one month after admission- Fur the reniainder of

26 For well over a cet~nuy since its fnunding, graduates ofWest Point received a coim~ssian in the Arinv. In 19:13. all eraduatcs disc) heisan rc~civine a Hachelor of

' The authorized strength of the Corps of Cadets for 1915 was 706. Fur 1916 this nearly doubled, to 1,332, though it tooksome timebeforc lhat level was actually reached. W a r k Tirim, 12 May 1917; Neiulbrk Times, 7 May 1910; "'Blue Devils' of France Pay a Visit to IVesr Point," ~Vewsof the Hlgldunils, 11 May 1918.

29 The Class of 1920 (Groves's class) graduated on'[ November 1918, 19 months early, 10 days before the armistice, after havingspent 28 months at West Point. The class was. originally called tile C l w uf 1920. later when there was another class that acutally graduated in 1920, it became the first Class of 1920. finally it became the Class of November 1918.

3u When World War1 hmke out tliere were 4,900 officers of the Regular Army who had at least one vear ofcommissioned service. When the U.S. entered rhe war over 193.000

31 Historical Statistics of tile United Stares, Cofoniul nines to 1970, Bicentennial Edition {Washington, DC: US. Department of Commerce, 19751, pt. 2, 1141.

32 As quoted in Brig. Gen. William W Ford, "I'lcbc Lire 1918," Assembly. June 19B2,38 " TheHowitser: The Yearhook oflhe C l m of l920, 16.

. . . . 35 Edwiu-d Teller with Alien Brown, The Legacy of Hiroshima, (Gaden Giv, NY: Doubleday

&Company, Inc., 1962),33. 36 Handwritten note by LRG un letter, Jacob Bacal to LRG, 15 IanuaJv 1968, Box 3, E u q

7530M, Papers of LRG, RG 200, NAAA.